Road-trippin'

After the Big Day Out, it was an early start for the three of us. The guys picked up our hire-car and stopped by at my hostel to pick me up for about 8am. I was embarking on my first surf/road-trip in Oz. Destination: Margaret River.

With 280kms, Decca and I (the over 25's) got to share the driving, in doing so; putting me behind the wheel for the first time in 4 months. Odd at first, I soon acclimatised - helped a little by driving on the left like all normal countries of the world!! We stopped off for Hungry Jacks (Burger King) along the way and also picked up some choice Australian snacks - the awesomely named "Road-Kill - The Champagne of Beef Jerkys".

Margaret River is famous mainly for two things; its wine and its surf. Even 40kms from town the area was littered with Wineries and Vineyards. The beauty of these however is that they all offer free tasting sessions - generally 5 tastes equating to one full glass of wine - per Winery. This would always mean a pre-dinner wine session on the way back from a hard day at the beach!

We arrived on Monday afternoon, found our lodgings and then headed out on a reconnaissance mission, checking out the local beaches and points for a good wave. At this point of the trip I was taking interest from the guys words on how to spot a good swell in preparation for a days surf. At this point of the trip I also thought I could surf. That evening, we were de-toxing after a few days on the drink and the Lube-Dog and I battled out an epic chess game lasting around 3hours... quickly boring Decca who resorted to hitting the drink again.

It seems the Australian way that all guys give their mates nick-names, I was now no longer an exception, thanks to influences from 'Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and 'The Streets'; I was now affectionately known as "The Geezer".

So Decca, Lube-Dog and the Geezer made it to the Margaret River mouth beach for our first surf-session. Decca made it quite apparant that he's done this a few times before in tearing up the waves before him... whilst The Geezer struggled hard to get past the barrage of oncoming waves and swirling rip currents. It was completely out of my league and after about 20minutes I was out of the water, and out of breath. Decca declared the surf to be 'crap'.

I'd heard of the 'pre-dawn search' in surfing before, but wasn't interested in going to look for big waves at 5.30am especially after my failed efforts. The guys went for it however and returned mid-morning.

Because of the 'poor-surf', we decided to give the swell some time to grow and so took a day out to see some of this part of the country in more detail. We headed down South to the Southern most point of the West Coast - Augusta. With some breath taking forrest driving, we made it to the coast were the lighthouse there also marks the point where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean.

Next up we headed to the Gloucester Tree. Not just any tree, this one located in the Karri forrest, Pemberton, is 60metres tall and is regularly climbed by those brave enough. At the top was a tree-house, where you can survey the upper canopy of the surrounding forrests for miles and miles.

On the way back home we stopped in at a couple of wineries to get our first tastes the local produce. I'd never known much difference between one glass of wine to the next, but I can safely say I'm educated now - and I can't remember education ever being as much fun!

The following day the guys got up early again and found the "best waves of the year". I went along for the second session of the day, and somewhat luckily for me, they'd died down a little. This time I managed 2 minutes in the water before being swept into a rock and getting a dead leg for my efforts! I had to let that recover the next day and so didn't get out again until our last full day at Margaret River.

With some progress, I actually managed to stand up for a nano-second... before carving a 'Zorro' imprint on my chest when the sharp point of the board spun around in some rough waves. So all in all I was brought down a peg or two in learning of my actual surf ability. But thanks to the guys, I have made some good progress with the sport... I just think the next time I practice, it'll be on smaller surf.

On Saturday we returned the rental car in Perth, had a few farewell beers before Decca and the Lube-Dog flew back to Sydney.